Be careful, son. These criminals are dangerous and not above murder.
I love you. I’m proud of you. And I’m always with you. But most of all, I’m sorry.
—Dad
Seth’s throat closed. His eyes burned. He blinked hard, forcing himself to focus.
How terrified had his dad been when he’d written the letter? How worried had he been to put all his faith in his teenage son?
Seth stared at the note, reading it again. His dad hadn’t come right out and stated there was evidence in the storage unit. He didn’t need to. But why else would he send Seth a key and the security codes?
Something was hidden there. Something his father had died protecting.
Something vitally important that had been sitting untouched for sixteen years.
He zipped his stare to the closet—to the box that held his father’s notes. The same box Seth had combed through a million times trying to figure out why his father had been killed.
What if…he’d never solved his dad’s murder because he’d been missing vital clues? What if those clues were in that storage unit?
Seth stared at the letter in one hand, the card and key in the other.
He was at a fucking crossroads.
He didn’t feel triumph or excitement. He didn’t even feel determination.
Instead, a cold, sinking certainty settled into his bones.
Clearly, his father had known he’d been in danger sixteen years ago. What he couldn’t have known was that this threat would show up to exact its vengeance on Autumn and Tristan eight horrible years later.
He thought about Tony’s skittishness at the bar when he’d talked about the precinct. Things have changed, gotten more political. It feels…corrupt.
He thought about Nikolai’s cryptic comment minutes later. I heard the minute you arrived in town. If I am aware of such things, do you not think they are, too?
Whatever his father had discovered, it sounded as if the threat was ongoing. And according to Nik, bigger and stronger than ever.
Seth froze. His body motionless. Dangerously controlled.
But his mind raced.
Once, he’d had everything—a wife, a son, a future. Then they’d been ripped away in a single fucking night.
And now he had Heavenly. Hudson. Beck. A baby on the way.
He’d be a lying motherfucker if he said he wasn’t terrified of losing them the same way because he knew damn well that digging got people killed. Worse, the danger never came for him. It preyed on the people he loved.
For now, Seth had to shelve this discovery. They had to maintain their careful façade during this brunch—pretend Beck wasn’t a part of his relationship with Heavenly—and not let news about the baby slip. Adding a murder investigation on top of that was too much.
And if his mom found out he’d discovered a warning from his dad, she wouldn’t stand still. She would do something and put herself at risk. A chill slid up his spine. Seth was eternally grateful his mom had never found that envelope. If she had, she likely wouldn’t be here, like his dad.
Still, Seth knew he couldn’t keep this to himself indefinitely. Eventually, he had to come clean with Beck and Heavenly. A secret like this would tear them apart.
But she didn’t need this level of anxiety now. It could be bad for the baby, and he didn’t want to risk them.
So he needed to tell Beck. At some point. If he could get the good doctor alone before he took them to the airport... Of course, Beck would be livid. Seth would have to convince him, swear that he wouldn’t go recklessly chasing the truth again.
Hudson didn’t need to know. The kid had enough on his plate, and Seth refused to drag a sixteen-year-old into shit this dangerous.
Which told Seth how threatened his dad must have felt if he’d been compelled to leave evidence with his teenage son.
